Once Upon a Fallen Rose
by SolemnLupine
Summary: Ruby Rose died during the Fall of Beacon. Waking up in a forest on a planet with two moons she is lost and confused. Mourning her own death and the deaths of RWBY and JNPR she is thrust into the Imperium of Man. Now she will kill in the name of the Emperor in pursuit of her goal. Find her team and protect the people she loves. At any cost.
1. Awakening

**A/N And it is on a little world in the Segmentum Obscurus, where we lay our scene.**

 **More stuff at the bottom. But for now just know this is a new 40k crossover. It might get updated like In Passing does. It might not. But i am gonna try and give it a coherent story thread. Not just chapter to chapter. I know right? Terrifying.**

 **Anyways. On with the show.**

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The raindrops fell like starlight when she awoke.

That's the first thing she noticed. And that's how dread wormed its way into her gut. For as she noticed that the raindrops fell like starlight because of the reflection from the moon. So too did she notice that that was moons. Plural.

Ruby Rose got to her feet in a flurry of rose petals, stumbled slightly and tried to brace herself on a tree. Pain lanced through her clouded mind as she scraped her knee on a rock.

 _'Why didn't my Aura protect me?'_ she thought. Looking behind her what she thought had been rose petals were just autumn leaves.

Her Aura was gone. Locked. She could feel it. It felt _wrong._

She looked around and saw only woods. It was late at night, wherever she was. Moonlight played off the blade of Crescent Rose. She gasped softly taking in the sight of it.

Her baby was in bad shape. The blade was nicked and scratched. Just looking at it she could tell the firing mechanism wouldn't work. There was a long gouge in the magazine, dust poking out of it.

Reaching out she caressed the weapon gently and found the folding latch. Working with care she manually folded her baby and clipped it to her back. Her first thought was to find a workshop. Which led to her second thought. ' _Where am I?'_

Looking around again she could see a surprising amount by the twin moons. Which she was purposely avoiding thinking about because it made her brain hurt. The conclusions she was drawing even not actively thinking about it where scaring her enough.

 _'This isn't Remnant.'_ she could hear being whispered to her. Ghosting through her thoughts and making her slip into panics icy grip.

Squashing it down she gathered up everything that was around her. Some Dust rounds and some ration bars as well as her canteen, half full. Seeing nothing else on the ground she picked a direction and walked. Memories came back to her as she wandered. Her team. Weiss, Yang and Blake. Beacon and the last few things she could remember. But she shut those out. It was too painful, too fresh.

The Fall of Beacon was not a welcome memory.

So many Hunters and Huntresses had fallen. She had watched all of team Juniper go up into the tower. The only one who came back down was Ren, his broken body leaving cracks in the cement and his usually serene face split into an endless scream. Only Cinder had come down alive. Holding the broken remains of Milo, Crocea Mors and Magenhild. They had been dripping with blood. Which turned to steam as she turned the remnants into ashes.

Then she had looked at Ruby. Eyes mad with power and flames licking at her sides. Heeling obediently like a dog. She'd hefted Crescent Rose and charged.

She'd died. It hit her like a bullet, the knowledge.

 **She'd died**.

And now she was here. But where exactly here was was anyone's guess. She stalked through the trees silently, like Ren and uncle Qrow had taught her. Not making a single sound but the gentle drawing of breath. She may not be on Remnant. A thought that her mind was steadfastly trying to deny but her eyes did not deceive her of.

Spying light through the treeline she resolved to move towards it. Her mind was a swirling pit of confusion and she was struggling to grasp onto anything. But her survival instincts were too deeply engrained for her not to push on. Fighting the urge to lie down and vomit before curling into a ball and crying she put one foot infront of the other.

Clearing the treeline she found herself on a well beaten dirt road. The first glimpses of dawn were beginning to creep across the landscape. By the new light she could see she was following a carriage. Breaking into a light jog she ran along side and tried to hail the driver.

Her throat felt parched and scratchy and her voice came out in a wheeze, Like she hadn't spoken in years.

"E-excuse me!" she shouted as hard as she could. Which wasn't very impressive but the cart slowed to a stop after a quick "Yah!" and a tug on the reins by the driver.

"Woah. You lost ma'am?" said a lanky youth pulling down a brown woolen hood.

"Yes. Very very lost. I have no idea where I am or how I got here. There's two moons in the sky and I don't think I'm even on my home planet anymore" Tears threatened to break through but she held them at bay. Huntress she may be and while shed noticed she was a little taller and more filled out. She was still 15 at heart.

"Well Ma'am I'm heading into town of you'd like a ride. My momma would have my ass if I left you out here all lost and confused. And you're clearly not from here if you're lost. So hop on up." he patted the spot beside him.

With more luck and training than anything else she made it in one swift leap, crimson cloak flaring out behind her. "Names Aak. Aak Cridd." he said by way of introduction, sticking his hand out to shake. "Ruby Rose." she said taking the offered hand and shaking it. She noticed while up close that his eyes were purple. Almost light pink like Rens.

"So Ruby. You're on New Tanith if you didn't know. Settled by the greatest regiment the Imperial Guard ever saw. Taking by the very fact you can get lost I assume you're from off world. Can you tell me where in the glorious Imperium you hail from?" He never took his eyes off the path. Even when the trees pressed inwards and literally crawled across the track. He didn't react, just kept up his friendly cheer. "Remnant. I've never heard of any Imperium." Ruby began to panic even more. Remnant had no Empires or Imperiums or anything. Her brain had skipped right past the trees. Filed it under "freak out about later"

"Never heard of the Imperium? I've never heard of any human that hasn't heard of the Imperium. Not any that weren't heretics or xenos controlled or nothin. Tell me what you do know and I'll try and fill you in from there."

She didn't know what a heretic or a xenos was but she was pretty sure she wasn't one.

So she began to explain. Explain about Remnant and the Grimm and Beacon.

It got harder and harder as she talked about her team. She missed them terribly already. " _Especially_ _Weiss_ " her treacherous brain added, showing a small spark of the feelings she had buried about her teammate.

When she got to the attack on Beacon and how she died Aak stopped the cart and looked around. He wrapped his lanky arms around her as she broke down and cried into his shoulder. "You are either crazy, the worst kind of heretic or the poorest gak I ever met. But by The Emperor I believe you. My daddy saw some wild shit in his stint as a Guardsman. Sent alot of letters about warp spawned feth forsaken wild stuff before he bought it. You can come back to my place with me. Momma is always picking up strays anyways. We can get you out of those clothes. They raise too many questions. And questions are dangerous in these times."

They rode on a few more miles with Aak dumping the basics of information about the Imperium. It was the 42nd millennium (Ruby almost fainted then and there) and on Holy Terra the God Emperor ruled mankind in a deathless state. Keeping a giant space beacon lit to guide ships through hell. (Aak had forgotten a few of the fancier terms himself and was just telling her what his dad had told him)

The Imperium was beset on all sides by all manner of nasty "Xenos" and what she learned was called Chaos. Or "The Arch Foe" who had been run right out of the Sabbat Worlds. Their local star cluster. Rubys nose started bleeding at that point as she tried to absorb the craziest things she had ever heard.

"Stop!" she said in the middle of Aaks explanation about the Imperial Faith. "I can't absorb anymore and I think I need to lie down." he simply nodded at her and sat in silence as she pushed her way to the back of the cart and wrapped herself in her cloak. She didn't think she could sleep but training kicked in and she dropped off immediately. As a Huntress you slept anywhere, anytime.

She didn't dream easily. Sizzling blood on freshly fallen snow.

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She was woken up by a swift boot in the leg. "Urghh. Yang, five more minutes." She tried to drag her cloak back over her but it was violently ripped away.

"Up you feth. You wanna die on a heretic blade?" her eyes shot open as she recalled where she was. It was not Aak who was kicking her but a man with a pure white beard and a grizzly scar where his left eye should have been. In his hands he held a bulky rifle of some kind with some kind of bird stamped on the side. He shoved the rifle into her hands and gave her a bandoleer of what was clearly ammo. "Aak tells me you're a fighter. We've got in coming. He said for me to tell you to kill anything that looks like it belongs in a shifty metal band, whatever the feth that means. Don't die and step too it. On the bounce Trooper!" She stood up straight and resisted the urge to snap an Atlas salute. He was clearly used to giving orders so she hurried to get the ammo secured around herself. She remembered long talks with Weiss about military discipline versus individual skill. The difference between a soldier and a Huntsman. It seemed like for the duration she was a soldier. It didn't matter to her. She wasn't even fazed by news of an attack. Grimm didn't stick to timetables.

People needed defending. And while Yang may personify the brawler she wasn't the only one in the family to find catharsis in combat. Right now Ruby needed that release. A chance to flex her au-

Shit. She didn't have her Aura. And from what she had managed to glean from Aak no one would take to kindly to her bursting into rose petals. Getting up and ducking into a barn she bought her arms up in an X shape crossed before her chest.

 _"For it is through sacrifice we are remembered. Through doing right we are venerated. It is my solemn burden and my greatest duty. An endless task without compromise or respite. I share this duty with you and release your soul, may it bear your burdens, and shield your heart."_

Casting her arms downwards to break the X crimson light filled the barn. The Light of her Soul was blinding and the rush of unbinding it seemed to clear a fog from her mind. Seemed to grant her focus.

Then the whispering started. Like a dull roar but silent at the same time she could hear voices. Never catching their meaning but somehow feeling their intent.

Blood. Crimson. Red.

Kill. _Kill_. **_Kill_**.

Driven to her knees she scrambled for her rifle. Bringing it to bare she scanned the barn. There was nothing but hay and equipment.

She rushed outside and came face to face with the grizzled old soldier. "How long do we have." She asked.

"Bout six hours according to the Navy boys. Take this." he pressed what looked like an earplug into her hand. "That's a microbead. Tap it once and it'll go to me. Twice for the whole damn PDF in this sector. Only reason you're getting one is because Munitorum fethed up and sent us a whole gakking cargo hold full of these and some Lasguns for reasons I suspect will make most of the conscription age boys on this planet piss their pants. Only reason I'm even talking to you is because Aak said you're a fighter and quite frankly I haven't got anything else to do before the heretics make planetfall."

A little insulted and a little excited by the fact she had a freaking lasergun she nodded. "Is there a workshop nearby?" she said. He merely pointed at a passing man in khaki. "Show her to the chopshop." the man nodded and gestured for her to follow him.

She had work to do.

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Ruby Rose was a weapons genius.

It wasn't arrogance. Wasn't bravado and wasn't a boast. When it came to weapons, Ruby came to life. She knew the layout of her baby better than her own mothers face.

So in six hours she had fixed, shored up and modified Crescent Rose to fire lasbolts. A fact which left the mechanic that had watched and sometimes helped her work stunned and muttering something about "tech heresy"

Five and a half hours after she had entered she left the workshop wearing olive green fatigues and carrying Crescent Rose MK II on her waist. Her Remnant Clothes and valuables were left in the workshop in a rucksack which she was going back for. In her hands she carried a Long Las which she had taken five minutes out of her modifying time to shoot every bottle the grizzled old soldier (She had learned everyone called him Sarge) put in front of her. To prove she deserved the rarer weapon.

She was tooled up. Kitted out and fully prepared to defend people. Her other issues were forgotten. Pushed down in favour of the job at hand. Life was precious and it must be protected. No matter what planet she was on.

Ruby Rose was a Huntress. And even as grief, loss and panic threatened to tear her apart she pushed it down as she always had.

Until she could either find a way home or find her place in this new galaxy she resolved to do as she always wanted to do. What she always had done.

Protect people. At all costs.

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 **Well. This is a thing.** **I have no plan or outline for this story. just a few general ideas. But i will try and update when i can. I love both Warhammer and RWBY.** **Like always im gonna play it fast and loose with the lore. Im taking inspiration from Gaunts Ghosts and A World Of Bloody Evolution. Some may say its a copy of either.** **Well this is here and its free for both your entertainment and my pleasure at writing. So drop a review, a suggestion or even just a complaint.** **Oh and for you shippers. It's gonna get pretty spicy later on. This is gonna be serious in some places and batshit insane in others so people will be drawn together for comfort.** **Until next time.**


	2. Raid on New Tanith

**A/N Welcome back to OUAFR.**

 **This chapter we'll test some limits. See where the story takes us. Ruby will get a little taste of how war is waged in the 42nd Millenium.**

 **More at the bottom.**

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Angry red streaks tore their way through the skies over New Tanith. Howling mad chatter came over the Vox and many of the PDF below clenched their teeth at the heretical speech being drilled into their ears over all wavelengths. It took too long to get the jammers in place and the men were shaky and cagey. One of the troopers had gone mad and fused his mouth to the barrel of his lasgun so Ruby was assigned to that squad to plug the hole. Apparently it didn't matter that she wasn't part of the PDF. It was amazing how easy it was to get places if you wore the right uniform.

Chaos insurgencies were springing up all over the planet. Cults that had long hidden from the eyes of the Inquisition now rising up and trying to overthrow the planet for their dark gods. Ruby didn't know their names, Aak had refused to say.

Ruby saw the first lander hit dirt and disgorge about a hundred heavy metal enthusiasts mixed with soldiers. Eight pointed stars were either tattooed or scarred into their bodies. Some had more limbs than was right and some she didn't even want to look at. Their weapons looked scavenged and poorly maintained.

She reported all this to the Sarge. Activating her Semblance she shot out of the tree she was in and rejoined her squad. "Where the gak did all these petals come from" one of her squad members said. "Don't worry about that. Worry about the hundred or so freaks we've got heading this way." She nodded in the general direction of the enemy.

She'd heard some bad things about them. But they couldn't be too bad right? Just misguided and led astray like the White Fang?

"Nalwoods movin'." Someone said and Ruby gawked as the trees moved out of the way to reveal the host marching straight towards them. The town was at their backs back through the trees. Squads were hidden below cloaks waiting to ambush them. Ruby had pouted when someone told her to swap out her mother's red cloak for a ratty black camo one but she had bowed to the necessity and stowed it back in the Chopshop.

Now she stood waiting for the order to attack, trying not to think about how she'd died less than a day before in what she assumed was a completely different universe.

' _Focus'_ she whispered to herself.

As they came closer she started to pick up what they were saying. They chattered in a language she had never heard before and seemed to be eager to move into the town.

"Wait for it." The voice came over the microbead, like the voice of a god.

"Just a little closer…" Ruby's finger curled around the trigger of her Long Las. She ranged out every target in her head as they moved. With a snipers precision.

"The Emperor Protects. Fire at will!"

Ruby had gotten two by the time he said fire. By the time the first one had hit the floor three more had been knocked cold. She shot until she ran dry. Then with a slightly clumsy reload she started shooting again. Every shot was a hit. ' _They don't have Aura'_ she realised slightly horrified. The Lasbolts didn't leave any blood so she assumed they'd been knocked out. But when she saw other Cultists bending down to loot ammo from their fallen comrades she realised she'd just _killed_ people.

Vomiting into the ground below she almost lost her footing. Tears streamed down her eyes as she tried to deny the fact she'd just murdered people.

However the heretics gave her no time to dwell on it as they ran forward like madmen. The PDF weren't exactly crack shots and bodies were fairly light on the ground. Barring the ones she had dropped herself.

They fell upon the defenders with crude axes and rusty and corrupted bayonets. A man she had sat next to for almost an hour was disemboweled before her eyes. It was at that point Ruby decided to put aside her moral dilemma. It was now kill or be killed.

Crescent Rose was unlimbered with barely a whisper. Long blade scratched from her final fight with Cinder. But repaired. Slightly bulky and in places green with parts she had used from her stolen lasgun. Her baby was out and howling for blood.

The whispers had started again. Ruby felt strangely calm about the thought of murdering the Cultists. In fact for some reason she now saw appeal in the idea. She wanted to see blood.

In a burst of rose petals she fell upon them. When her Scythe blade caught in a heretic throat she blasted it apart with a bolt of lasfire. Blood, mud and guts slowly started to accumulate on her as she killed and killed. But it was never enough to satisfy the dull hunger she felt. The lust for blood.

Her Aura sponged bullets and a hundred heretics very quickly became zero with the help of the rest of the PDF. She beheaded the last one herself before backflipping off his falling corpse and landing with her weapon blade down in the dirt across her back.

The brutality didn't even phase her. Even when in the back of her mind something was screaming that it should. Something was roaring out that she should be horrified, but she felt numb to it.

It was over almost as quickly as it began. She went back to where she had started only to find that one of her squad of six had made it. Young girl by the name of Yaolin. Upon offering her hand Yaolin looked grateful, but slightly afraid of her.

"-eat. Is anyone alive?" Sarges voice broke through the whispers and Ruby dropped to her knees. With the lull in the battle she fully felt the weight of what she had done. The Cultists were bad people. She had seen that during the skirmish. But did that mean they deserved to die? Did she have the right as a self proclaimed 'defender of the people' to snuff out human life in defense of it?

She thought about it on the way back to the village. No one stopped her. She wasn't even really supposed to be here. She didn't _fit_ anywhere in this Imperium.

"Emperors rotted left bollock i just got a pict vid of you in action. What did you say your name was? I wish i had ten more like you!" Sarges praise fell upon deaf ears as Ruby trudged without aim. "Nevermind. Girl like you should be in the Guard. We got word just before the Warp storm. Administratum is Founding a Guard Regiment from New Tanith. Light infantry. You should join up. Save some sorry farm boy from getting dragged away from his mamma."

Ruby looked around at him. The Guard. Was that a place in the galaxy she could call home? Somewhere she could protect people? Even by joining up she'd be saving someone. Letting them have their own chance at life.

"What do I do?" She said.

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"Hmm" The Inquisitor said as he consulted a pict slate. The shadow at the edge of the room peeled itself away and padded over to the desk. "News?" She whispered.

"Possibly. The Astropaths detected a massive burst of energy consistent with reports of the other emergences and sightings." The Assassin upturned an eyebrow.

"But." she sighed.

"But it was shortly before a massive Warp storm and anyone from Remnant could be lost. Chaos raiders by the scattered transmission from-" He consulted a data read out "New Tanith."

The Assassin folded her arms, a habit of a life long past she could not seem to break. "Everyone of those signatures we must investigate. You know that."

He removed his reading glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes i know. Anyone of them could be someone that we knew. It is our responsibility and solemn burden to guide them into the Emperors Light and help them find their way."

She snorted "Textbook."

He picked up his ever present mug and took a sip. "Sharp wit as always. Miss Belladonna"

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Tanith Magna was a wounded animal.

People hurried too and from with scared eyes and fresh bandages. Ubiquitous suffering. Buildings still on fire and body parts only just being cleaned up. It had taken Ruby days to reach the capitol. That was fine, the walking gave her time to think. Time to deal with what she'd lost and what she'd already had to do to survive.

She'd thought about the whispering too. It had clearly influenced her but she had no idea what it was or how to stop it. She was tempted to start asking questions. But as she'd already learned, questions here were dangerous.

She would try and figure it out on her own. But she couldn't do it here. She would have to find her way off of this new planet and try and find some answers among the stars. Someone in this galaxy had to know what had happened to her. It wasn't much. But it was a goal to cling too.

Until then she would carry on with her duty as a Huntress. Even if there was no such thing in this universe. People needed protecting and Ruby could protect them, so she would. It was that simple.

To do that best she needed to get off of New Tanith. But she wasn't exactly swimming in lien. Or whatever the heck they used as money here.

Sarge had given her a letter before she left town. Told her to present it to the "Nearest Munitorum puke" He said it would get her off world as long as she was "Willing to do The Emperors work"

So here she was. Weaving in and out of colossal buildings that made Vale look like a backwater village. She had all her belongings from Remnant shoved into a pack. All except from her mothers cloak. Which she had wrapped tightly around herself too ward her from the cold. The red drew attention but their were far more pressing matter for the population of Tanith Magna to deal with than a strange girl in a red cloak. Many were hiding their faces, if only to hide the tears.

The first time she saw a servitor was quite an experience. The town she had come from didn't have any but as she got into the city proper she could see men fused with machines shifting rubble even as soldiers covered them. The uprising had been prevented from swallowing the planet by the landing of Imperial reinforcements. The Guardsmen bought with them men in red robes who chirped and chattered in a language she couldn't understand. They seemed to be the ones guiding the Servitors and repairing everything.

Finally she came to a squat building which had an Imperial Aquila above the words "Administratum"

Taking a deep breath she pushed her way inside. The building was empty save for a clerk in white robes. ' _They love their robes here_ ' she thought to herself.

"Excuse me." She said to the clerk. Her voice faltered slightly, scratchy from disuse. "I'm looking to sign up for the Founding. For the Guard."

The clerk raised a single eyebrow and handed her a form. "Fill this out. Bring it back." His voice was as robotic as his mannerisms. "I'm supposed to give someone this letter." she said handing it too him. The clerk opened the letter and scanned it. "I see." he croaked, folding the letter up and returning it too her. She hadn't read it herself. He drew a form from a rack beside him and began to fill in details. For minutes he scratched away. She tried not to think about how his finger was a pen. In silence she waited. Finally he stopped and put the paper into an envelope. He stamped it and gave it back to her. "Make your way to the Founding Fields and report for induction." He then stooped to his work again like she wasn't there.

That was her first meeting with the uncaring, unceasing bureaucracy of The Imperium. It would be far from her last.

It took her a few attempts to find the Founding Fields. Locals were wary of anyone who wasn't in uniform. It hurt Ruby too see such deep mistrust in people's eyes. She'd only ever seen people this beat down after the worst Grimm attacks.

If she'd known what she was getting into she'd have strongly considered running back into the forest and living the life of a hermit.

As she walked into the Fields she walked past a line of sentries into soldier country. Black webbing over green woodland camo uniforms. They all carried bulky Lasguns with the practise of a barely trained civilians, she could see it in their stances.

Walking further in she saw nothing but bald males and females. Blue swirling tattoos decorated nearly every scalp. Everyone had at least one.

' _Must be some kind of tradition. I wonder what they mean'_ She was tempted to stop and ask but she felt that might raise too many questions. Out of necessity she asked where she could find the person in charge. A young Tanith trooper pointed her towards the command tent and then hurried off.

She found it after a few attempts. Brushing back the flap and pushing her way inside she went unnoticed as a three men bent over a flipped over ammo crate, consulting some charts.

"-unch of soft spoken woodsman. Are you sure they're fit to even carry Lasguns?" said one wearing a red sash. Her love of the colour immediately conflicted with the opinion of the man.

"Of course we're bloody fit. We're descendants of the greatest Guard Regiment from here to Terra. The Tanith First are a bloody legend in this sector and we will follow in their footsteps. They may be gone but we'll bring the name of New Tanith some fresh glory you mark my fething words." a slightly older man on the opposite side had spoken. The man in the middle was silent. Pouring over the charts like they held the meaning of life.

"With respect to New Taniths storied history Major Cormac. The men that won the Sabbat Worlds crusade are dead and buried hundreds of years past. Their immediate descendants exempt from the Imperial Tithe for services rendered. These are nothing but boys and girls playing at soldier."

"That will be all Commissar Kowalski." The man in the middle had a commanding presence. Like Miss Goodwitch or General Ironwood.

"Of course Colonel Gaunt." The Commissar, although she had no idea what that was. Saluted and left. He tipped his hat to her as he passed. Probably thought she was a civilian.

"Are you going to stand there all day miss?" Gaunt said. Ruby stepped forward and made her best attempt at an Atlas salute. "Ruby Rose here to join… sir." She added the 'sir' in haste. She was not used to it at all. Her cheeks coloured slightly in embarrassment.

He stared at her for a moment. "You don't look local. What world do you hail from."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Sir."

He looked at her a moment more and nodded. "Very well." was all he said before he turned back to his charts. She breathed a silent sigh of relief. It would be a bad idea to explain Remnant to everyone she came across. Maybe she should have lied?

"I'll show you to your billet." Major Kowalski said. "If you're not from here I don't know what possessed you to join. But for what it's worth. Welcome to the Tanith 2nd."

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 **Whelp. Another new chapter done.**

 **Before anyone fangirls/boys/genderneutral lascanon's in the reviews, that isn't the OG Gaunt from the book series. His story will unfold later. Lot of OC's by necessity.**

 **I'm getting a better feel for the story now. Plans on plans and some subplots unfolding in my head.**

 **Blake and Mysterious Mug Man. (If you couldn't tell. It's Ozpin.) Are on the hunt for Ruby now. But she isn't the first one to find herself stranded in this brave new galaxy.**

 **Reviews really do help. Mash out any thoughts, feelings or ever present hatred. I am always trying to improve my craft and I appreciate having any and all criticism.**

 **Oh and in reply to Spartastic 4. Ruby isn't planned to fall to Khorne. Chaos Ruby might be fun but I personally wouldn't know how to portray her effectively. Chaos will have an effect on people, especially those with Aura. We're gonna visit some dark places in this fic. Or at least that's the plan. No Khornate Ruby, but she will be fucking all kinds of shit up.**

 **Next time: Obligatory sci fi basic training chapter.**


	3. Dead and Gone

**A/N Welcome back to OUAFR.**

 **I'm enjoying writing this very much and the holidays is giving me a lot of freetime. I hope you're all enjoying my little tribute to my two favorite universes.**

 **More at the bottom.**

 **Also, as an aside, to answer a review. This fic is heavily, I repeat /HEAVILY/ Inspired by A World of Bloody Evolution. This is because it's the best Warhammer fic i've ever read. So credits, props and all that to the author. I hope they don't mind.**

 **/-/**

Imperial architecture really was grating after awhile Ruby decided. It was all gold and eagles and Emperor this, Emperor that. Pointless platitudes designed for the weak of mind and the indoctrinated. Really once you got over the large scale then they just looked like any old buildings.

Men in robes and machines mixed with people shuffled about their business as she wandered through the streets. They didn't much bother her anymore. You just kinda got used to them. She had about a week to kill before she left the planet. They'd given her leave like most of the other soldiers. Except she had no family to spend the week with. Hence her wandering. Maybe she'd find another workshop to toy with her baby.

She walked around in her freshly issued kit, which itched like nothing else she'd ever owned. Green camouflage with a black webbing overlay. Her cloak draped over top.

They'd tried to cut her hair but her aura had chewed up every razor. Finally they'd given up and she was now just about the only soldier on new Tanith who had hair. Which pissed off the Commissar to no end.

Crescent Rose was strapped to her waist. No one had thought to question what it was but she was worried about it anyway. She couldn't keep fighting with her scythe. Not in the kind of war that was fought here. The only monsters to slay were men. She could kill those with her Long Las just as well as her baby and not get shot for "Heresy" But she'd trained with her baby all her life. It was an extension of herself. It felt like a betrayal to not fight with her beloved scythe.

A noise in an alley gave her pause as she passed by. Something about the jeering tone of the men gathered there made her draw up her hood, her hand fell to her weapon.

"See if he's got any credits on him."

Criminals. Her lips drew back in a snarl. Images of Torchwick flashed into her mind. A chattering whisper started up just on the edges of her perception. In this world she killed criminals. She'd be leaving the planet in a week, who would ever know?

As she pushed further into the alleyway she used every stealth skill Blake had taught her. Enhancing her movements with her speed she went from cover to cover. She was as silent as a gust of wind.

"Nothin on him but some plastic cards and a few pictures. Let's stick him and leave"

Silver flashed in the dark.

An aura covered hand blocked it. Grabbing the knife and disarming the criminal she flipped it into a reverse grip and buried it into his throat. Pulling it free in a shower of blood. Her heart beat in her ears.

Taking up the knife once more she took the measure of the other two criminals. One had ran off when she'd killed his friend. No matter, she'd find him later.

They pulled knives and circled her warily. The figure on the ground was forgotten.

One made to lunge at her. She was waiting for it. She sidestepped him and shoved him to the floor. Twisting his own knife out of his hands she buried it in his eye socket. He screamed briefly and went still.

A blow to the back of her head stunned her slightly but her Aura soaked up most of it. Whispers turned into a roar as she spun around and growled. Discarding her knife she fell into the stance her sister had drilled into her. Feet planted, shoulders back. A brawlers technique.

He came at her cautiously. She channeled her Aura into her fists and charged, screaming incoherently. She was on him like a banshee. Her legs locked around his body as she rained down blows on his face. It was over as soon as he was on his back. After his face was a caved in crater she got up. She hated criminals. Hated what they did to leech off of the weak. They all deserved to die.

Or at least that's what the whispers said.

Remembering suddenly the figure on the ground she bent down. They had covered his face with a coat for some reason so she drew it back.

With a gasp she fell back onto her ass. Hand flying to her mouth in shock.

Someone else from Remnant was here with her.

Which meant someone else had died.

/-/

"That's the third one this week." The Assassin sighed as she handed her master and friend a dataslate. He took it and reviewed it's contents.

"The Warp is restless. It stirs with inhuman power and malicious machinations. All centred around this world. Whoever has appeared here from our old home is powerful indeed. Powerful enough to attract the eye of The Blood God himself. It is of little surprise our Astropaths are being overwhelmed."

Blake reached over and flicked some dials. Ozpin's eyes widened. "Two bursts of energy? My that is rare. Have you-"

"The Navigator has been sufficiently motivated." She interjected.

He raised his eyebrow in curiosity, then dismissed it as unimportant.

"We will need to be prepared. The taint of Chaos is easy to fall too for the uninitiated. Even for the wary we can still fall prey to the Ruinous Powers."

Blake shut her eyes briefly. She knew it all too well the temptations of Chaos.

"I will prepare my equipment. We may need to give any of our fallen brethren the Emperor's Peace." She began to walk out.

Ozpin let a fraction of the pain he felt at potentially murdering more of his previous lives friends or countrymen show on his face. But did not move to stop her.

/-/

A flaming sword flashed as tears streamed down his face.

Peace at last. Peace from his uselessness. No one else would die because he was too weak to protect them. They were all better off without him. Nora and Ren had looked like they could finish her off after he had cracked her Aura. Not before she had killed Pyrrha though, and then him when he ran to avenge her.

He was surprised when his eyes opened. How the hell had he survived? He could hear voices outside. Way to many to be the emerald forest.

"Jaune?" He heard in a faint whisper. He'd know that voice anywhere.

"Ruby. What's happening?" His eyes focused on her. She was wearing some kind of military uniform. Her hair was tied back and she looked like she'd been crying.

"Beacon Fell. Your team...Jaune i'm so sorry. I saw her come out with Crocea Mors, Stormflower and Magenhild. You must have died up there. I tried to fight her but…" She trailed off.

"Is this the afterlife?" He asked.

Ruby let out a soft laugh through her tears. "I certainly fucking hope not. Listen Jaune there's some stuff you need to hear. I barely understand it myself. But we're not on Remnant anymore."

Jaune blinked once. He had never heard Ruby curse "That's insane."

"You think that's insane? I've killed more people this week than our entire team did back on Remnant Jaune. I plunged a knife into man's throat as he tried to plunge one into your heart. I have a gun that fire laserbeams and i'm now a soldier in an organisation i've never heard of. Fighting for an Imperium i've never known a scant few days after my _death_. We've been given another chance Jaune. Now we need to get off this planet and I intend to find my team. Yours too. Are you with me?"

He threaded his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. "What do we need to do."

He'd been given a second chance and he wouldn't waste it. He'd get stronger and he's find his team.

"Well first we need to get you out of those clothes."

It took exactly three seconds for them both to go as red as Ruby's cloak.

/-/

It wasn't hard to get Jaune signed up. Ruby went to the Major and introduced him as her friend who wanted to join too. The Major put them in the same platoon. Alpha, led personally by the Colonel himself. Jaune went along with whatever Ruby said. He was quiet and withdrawn and seemed to be okay being led by the hand everywhere. She'd seen the look he wore before. In her father's eyes after her mother died. People with that look didn't make it long without help. That was okay. She'd be strong for the both of them. Like Yang was with her.

When they left the planet it was quiet for them. They just shuffled into the troop transport and tried to ignore all the tearful goodbyes. None of these men and women would ever see New Tanith again. They would fight until they died of something. In the name of the "God Emperor"

She wound her fingers into Jaunes as the transport lifted off. He had procured himself a bag beforehand. Squeezing his fingers lightly she whispered into his ear to try and distract him. The transport was silent bar the sounds of retching and praying.

"Holy Feth" Someone whispered looking out of the viewport. Ruby moved over and looked out. There glistening in the vac (She'd heard a Navy man call it that) was a ship bigger than Vale and bristling with gun turrets. It looked like a giant church floating in space.

Ships darted about it like ants. Fighters buzzing around on patrol and cargo ships moving in and out of the ships great maw. As they drew closer and closer she could see more detail. Scars from previous battles. And a name that almost stopped her heart. ' _The Last Rose of Summer'_

A coincidence. It had to be. She gripped Jaunes hand tighter, he didn't even seem to notice.

The ships vox crackled. Colonel Gaunts voice booming out into the transport. "Men of Tanith. The past is dead and gone. Take a good look at your home because neither you nor I will likely see it again. We have given our lives in service to the God Emperor and I intend to sell every single one of them dearly.

The days ahead will be bleak but know that shining green marble down there will be protected. We are the thin black line that stands between the darkness and our home.

As you know being at the edge of the Sabbat Worlds we are the closest to the remnants of Chaos from the Old Crusade. The very same one where my father stood side by side with a Living Saint and put the heretics to the sword. We make for Vostruna to accomplish the same goal. The Journey will take three months in which we will turn you from fresh faced, soft bellied woodsmen into real Imperial Guardsmen.

The Emperor Protects. Gaunt out."

Jaune looked up and then to her. "Uplifting" he said, that singular word dripping with sarcasm.

"These people are being taken from their homes Jaune. He's from this planet himself. He knows what pain they're going through but he's not going to lie to them. Nor to us. I've heard some nasty things about this new world we've stumbled into. We need to get your Aura unlocked as soon as we can."

"Why not here?" His head tilted to the side slightly.

"Well for one we're almost there and two the light show wouldn't exactly be a good way to hide our power from them. I'm not too familiar with this place yet but these guys seriously don't like anything they can't understand. The guy in the workshop I was in almost threw a fit when i modified Crescent Rose. Said something called the Mechanicum doesn't like people fiddling about with technology. These people are so backwards in so many ways I wouldn't want to scare them. No one I've seen has Aura at all. I don't think _anyone_ has it."

Jaune nodded and leant his head back against the wall. "This isn't going to be easy." His eyes opened and flicked over to her. "But i'm glad I have you here."

She smiled. "We'll protect each other. Keep each other safe."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

/-/

 **Whelp. Another chapter done. Keeping the word count around 2k. It seems like a natural fit for me. So you'll get the story in smaller chunks but probably more frequently.**

 **Maybe i'll change that as the story goes on. Bump it up to 3k next chapter if i can (No promises!)**

 **I hope you all enjoyed. I reply to most reviews if it's more than a "Post moar!" or "Pretty good!" So if you have a question or a suggestion just drop it in and i'll do my best to answer it.**

 **Until next time 0/**


	4. Red like Roses

**Welcome back to Once Upon a Fallen Rose!**

 **The response to this story has been amazing. Every favorite and review makes me even more excited to write the next chapter.**

 **Hopefully some reader concerns are addressed this chapter. Mostly Ruby's dialogue and mannerisms.**

 **Oh and something I** _ **really**_ **should have put in the first chapter. This fic has spoilers for both RWBY and the Gaunt's Ghosts book series. This is the only warning i'm gonna issue about it. SPOILERS AHEAD ALL WHO ENTER HERE.**

 **Gonna try and explain more about 40k at some point. I assume most people here are RWBY fans so I'll be lighter on the lore with regards to that. Don't expect a history of the Imperium or anything but as stuff gets introduced you'll learn with the characters.**

 **Anyways. On with the show.**

 **/-/**

Ruby learned how to play soldier quickly. Yes Sir. No Sir. Of course Sir. it was all surprisingly easy once you'd been at it awhile. Even if you hadn't it wasn't hard to pick up.

They were awoken by Sergeants with shock batons at stupid o'clock in the morning. Or what passed for morning on the ship. _The Last Rose Of Summer._ It still sent chills through her. It couldn't be a coincidence. She'd lain awake at night. Wept with Jaune as they wrapped their arms around each other for comfort. Ruby kept having nightmares as whispers turned to voices as they sailed through the Warp. Jaune was just broken. A shattered man who had failed his team. "It's my fault" he whispered into the dark. Over and over, an unhealthy mantra. He's whisper his teammates names like a prayer. She started doing the same. She squeeze her eyes shut and colours would flash across the landscape of her mind. White, fresh fallen snow. Black, rippling shadows. Yellow, rising flames. Emotions that couldn't be described ran through her. All lost to her now.

But she had to be strong. Just like when her mother died she had to push her grief down lest it swallow her in it's suffocating grip. She had to be strong for Jaune, her first friend.

Slowly she reached up to run her hands through his hair. Singing softly in his ear. Like Yang used to do for her right after Summer was gone. Gradually he stopped shaking.

The hold was quiet after that. The entire platoon crammed into the same narrow barracks. Stark steel grey walls broken up by gun metal girders. Kit was strewn about everywhere. Ruby had stored both her and Jaunes gear on her bed. Crocea Mors was still strapped to Jaunes body despite her seeing Cinder with it. After the whole "Dying and waking up in another galaxy" thing she just decided to chalk it up to weird shit. Which had way to many marks in it's tally as far as she was concerned.

Everyone was asleep as far as she could tell. Apart from the distant sound of what she thought were pipes all she could hear was gentle snoring. Rolling nimbly she pulled the duvet over the both of them, covering as much of them as she could. Putting her hand to his chest she began to whisper. The words came to her again. The very same she'd used to unlock her own Aura.

" _For it is through sacrifice we are remembered. Through doing right we are venerated. It is my solemn burden and my greatest duty. An endless task without compromise or respite. I share this duty with you and release your soul, may it bear your burdens, and shield your heart."_

His eyes shot open. It was all she saw before she was blinded by white.

The Light of Jaunes Soul was a pure colour and all consuming. The ship began to shake violently and alarm claxons went off with keening warbles. Kit was thrown everywhere along with bodies. A Tanith trooper sailed across the barracks and Ruby heard his arm snap like a dry twig. It was chaos.

With another shake the ship smoothed out. "What the feth was that?" said the Trooper nearest her. "Saw nothing but white then all gakking feth broke loose" another conferred.

Ruby said nothing as she picked up her gear. An announcement came over the tannoy saying it was just a slight warp mishap.

Ruby cursed herself. What was she thinking doing something like that during a warp transit? She should have done it back on New Tanith! Stupid _stupid_ _**stupid.**_

A hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the corridor.

"Train me" Jaune said. "I have my Aura now thanks to you. I was useless before but now I can be better. I can make Pyrrha, my team. Proud." He still had tears in his eyes. His stance was still uncertain. His grip was shaky but she couldn't say no to helping anyone. Let alone someone so desperate. "Okay" she said, collecting herself. "We start now"

/-/

They found a suitable enough space in a disused cargo hold. No one had tried to stop them. Lots of troopers couldn't sleep after the "Warp transit error"

Drab green crates with raised aquillias on the sides walled off their battleground. Despite his declaration Jaune still looked nervous. Ruby had bought their weapons with them.

She eyed him as they walked. Hand wrapped around the hilt of Crocea Mors and uncertain eyes scanning around. He had the stance of a warrior but she knew she could wipe the floor with him. What was his issue?

She'd find out soon. They faced each other in the cargo space and she unlimbered Crescent Rose in one smooth movement. Unloading the clip she slipped it back into her belt. Adjusting her flak armour she dropped into a combat stance. Annoyed at how restrictive her new pants felt. Where the hell in this Imperium was she supposed to get a military approved combat skirt?

Jaune drew Crocea Mors and raised it's shield in front of him. Scratching the back of his neck he avoided her gaze "So…"

She smiled goofily at him. "C'mon Jaune. Hit me." She knew she was better than him. Even now she itched to dash forward and put him on the ground. But then he'd never learn anything. It wouldn't do to frustrate him just yet. Not before she saw what he could do.

Nervously he edged forward and gave her a testing slash. Her hands twitched on the hilt of Crescent Rose but she sidestepped instead of attacking. His blow didn't whistle past like it should. He had pulled it at the last second and was already falling back into a defensive stance.

Yelling he came for her again. She weaved through it with a dancers grace. Semblance straining to be unleashed. Her body yearned to break into rose petals and scatter in the air. She restrained herself and tried to pierce his defense. His Aura was monstrous but his control was beginner. Her quick slashes yielded a few thin red lines. He merely stepped into her strikes with the grimace of one used to it.

Flashes of anger appeared on his face but they faded quickly. He was controlling himself. Keeping his anger in check lest he lose control.

She overextended a strike so blatant anyone else would have assumed it was a trap. But Jaune, elated with the chance to get a hit in went for it. She ducked her head and he was already winding his arm back in. pulling another perfectly good strike.

"Stop." She said. He lowered his blade.

"How often did you train with your team?" she asked him.

He reached up for the back of his neck again, a nervous habit she'd noticed.

"I trained with Pyrrha. On the rooftop every night."

She nodded "How often did you get a hit in"

He hung his head. "Never."

She could see one of the problems. Pyrrha was the Invincible Girl. An absolute monster with her weapons and no slouch in hand to hand either. He literally had no time to practice attacking and subconsciously conserved energy to defend himself against her punishing attacks. "You need to put some weight behind your strikes. You can't keep drawing yourself back to conserve energy for defense."

"But what if I fail?"

"Than fail! Better for you to do it in training than out there." She gestured vaguely in the direction of outside the ship.

He nodded once and raised his blade. With a flourish of his sword he charged her. She flicked her scythe into his guard and felt it ping off his Aura. As she dodged she felt his blade roar over her head. She could feel the power he was putting into it. "Good!" she said. "Now lets work on your anger. I know you have it. Why don't you use it?" She rolled past his silent strikes. Using her full skill set to dodge every swing. "You'll never hit me like that." She taunted. "You'll never be useful if you keep fighting like Pyrrha. She's a Technical fighter. You need to use your anger. Give into it Jaune!" She launched a punishing barrage of strikes. Snapping Jaunes head four different ways in as many seconds. Kicking his legs out from under him.

"Pathetic." She spat.

He raised his eyes and she stepped back slightly. He was in a rage now.

"Oh so now you're ready to fight? She gave him a sarcastic smile "Do your best Vomit Boy."

He flicked a bunch of loose camo netting her way. She tried to sidestep but he was there in her guard. Relentlessly pushing an assault. Not giving her a second to think. She bought Crescent Rose up with a twirl and sliced it across his stomach but he grunted and ignored it. With a mighty crack he backhanded her and she spun off balance.

Seeing red she came at him like a beowulf. He flew past her strikes or just tanked them. Bringing his shield up to dodge or simply using it as a battering ram against his lithe opponent. Their blows connected again and again as they came apart and crashed together. Locked in a dance of anger and raw primal emotion.

She was fighting hard now. Breathing harder as their combat dragged on. It was like a switch had been flicked and suddenly Jaune was set free. He had his own style of grappling and deflecting.

She was _loving_ every second as they went all out against each other. Neither able to gain the upper hand. "Good!" she praised, he was finally developing his own rhythm, not relying on brute strength and flawless technique like Pyrrha.

Until Ruby got careless with a strike and suddenly her baby was on the floor, already folding itself back up. She tried to roll out of the way but he slammed into her and pinned her hands above her head. They were both panting hard. Both sweating heavily. He was smirking down at her in hard earned victory. She was painfully aware of their bodies being pressed together. Her breasts rubbing against the front of his flak armour. He didn't seem to notice as her cheeks flushed and heat pooled in her stomach. She wanted to pull him _closer._

Crocea Mors fell to the floor as they stared into each others eyes. His were a deep sapphire color. She'd never noticed back on Remnant.

"Good fight" She squealed. Melting into rose petals she got out of the pin and swept Jaunes feet out from under him. "We'll practise again tomorrow night." she said before bolting out the door. Sealing the bulkhead behind her she pressed her back up against the cool metal, hood drawn up.

"What the hell was that?" She said into the air.

/-/

Jaune had dismissed Ruby's sudden exit as just her being weird. He pointedly ignored the dusting of red on her cheeks reminiscent of his late partner. You didn't have your partner/girlfriend die in front of you suddenly after months of crushing on you without learning the signs the hard way. Pyrrha had suddenly left rooms like that all the time.

Great. This was all he needed.

He pushed it down deep. He didn't need whatever the hell Ruby was putting out. Didn't need to complicate things beyond how _fucked_ they already were.

His anger mounted as the Colonel took them on a punishing hike through the ship. _The Last Rose of Summer_ was an absolute monster of a vessel. Bigger than Vale and they were bloody running up and down it. Like they did every fucking morning.

He struggled. His conditioning had improved under Nora's insane training routine back on Remnant. He shuddered remembering it. He missed his teammate. Regretted what must have been her death. But he prayed to this God Emperor everyone kept telling him about that he never had to train with her again.

Ruby ran alongside him. He spared her a sidewards glance. She was actually kinda cute. In an innocent sort of way. She had forgone her flak armour and even her cloak and was running in a black form fitting tube top and khaki trousers. Underneath all that she always wore she was muscled as Yang. She didn't have the size her sister did but Jaune could see she packed just as much muscle in her lithe frame.

He looked straight ahead again. Fighting a pain in his side he gritted his teeth.

He would keep going. For his team. For himself.

And now for Ruby. To protect her. To protect each other.

One promise he was determined not to break.

/-/

Three months passed in a blur for Ruby.

She was kicked awake in the mornings. Ran all morning. Spoke to no one but Jaune in the mess hall. Not for lack of trying on her part. The Tanith didn't seem to be in a chatty mood. She trained all afternoon with lasgun and bayonet. Even concealing her Aura she stomped everyone else. Almost the best in the Regiment, bar someone called Mkvandal. Who she fought to a draw regularly but to her frustration could never beat. Then at night she trained with Jaune. There was never a repeat of their first training sessions incident. As much as a dark whisper in the back of her mind wanted it. Separate from the _actual_ whispers who kept egging her on to do what she wanted, when she wanted. She ignored those. Assumed they were some kind of stress related thing.

The days slipped away like sand in a hourglass. Dragging them ever closer to planetfall. To their first glimpse of a real Imperial War.

The Imperium of Man, she had learned. Was a giant galaxy spanning empire ruled by someone called The God Emperor of Mankind. Who was ubiquitously worshipped throughout the Imperium. His sons, the Primarchs. Were no less worshipped as His sons. Barring the ones that had turned against the Emperor during something called the Horus Heresy.

It awed Ruby to think something that happened over ten thousand years ago could still be affecting present day events. It humbled her to think of herself as a small cog in a greater machine. She would do her part as she had signed up to do. Protect people. Like the Space Marines she'd been told about did. The Angels of The Emperor.

They graduated a week before planetfall. Given a small scrap of paper that confirmed them as fully fledged Guardsmen. Ruby threw it in her locker and thought of cookies as her reward. Sadly none could be found in this godless Imperium.

Jaune pinned it proudly to his, or rather _their_ bed. They slept together to help keep the nightmares at bay. The cat calls had mostly stopped now. Ruby didn't relate it to the _other_ thing. The thing she felt developing for Jaune. They did it for comfort and security. To keep their demons down. They both had the nightmares of things moving in the dark now. The voices chattering to them. Waking up in his arms every morning wasn't exactly helping her problem but it was necessary. She was strong but she had to draw comfort from somewhere.

" _Like acting like a child for your friends._ " a treacherous voice in her head said. " _Just pretending you were less mature than you are because it made you feel better. Lighter."_ The voice was dripping with malice.

She didn't deny it. Couldn't deny it. It was the truth.

Ruby Rose had grown up along time ago. Around the time she saw her mother ripped apart by Grimm. Saw her father sink into depression and her uncle into the bottom of a bottle. Saw her sister push herself half to death to practically raise her. Something that still made tears well up in her eyes.

Jaune squeezed her hand. She looked up at him and smiled weakly. "We'll be okay" he said. He must of thought she was worried about the drop. She could do that. It was protecting people. In a roundabout sort of way. She'd even come to terms with the thought of killing to defend that ideal. As much as Jaune had to hold her hair back as she vomited the first few weeks of mulling over the idea.

"I know." She said. Like she knew the future. Like she knew they would be.

In a way she did. The future was red with the blood of anyone who would hurt the scraps of home and sanity she had left. It was so very red.

Red like Roses.

/-/

 **Another week another chapter.**

 **Thank you so much for the kind words in the reviews everyone. It's seriously leaving me speechless to see such an outpouring of support.**

 **Too everyone that had concerns over Ruby's maturity. I hope you can see the explanation here. It might not be to everyone's taste but she's gonna have to grow up fast if she doesn't wanna be daemon food.**

 **Also yes. This is a Lancaster fic. When shit isn't hitting the fan it's gonna get all shippy. Something for everyone right?**

 **Too all the 40k fans who wanna see a bit more grimdark and less RWBY. Don't worry. There's purely 40k characters coming in soon.**

 **To the reviewer that wanted Jaune Cain. (HERO OF THE IMPERIUM)**

 **I'm sure i'll add some of the sentences Sandy Mitchell copy pastes into her books at some point. Unfortunately Jaunes not gonna bullshit his way out of everything as funny as that would be.**

 **That's about it. Reviews and follows are appreciated a lot. This fic is doing way better than I ever thought it would already but let's see how high we can go eh?**

 **Next chapter: Planetfall and Colonel Gaunt's story**


	5. Vostruna

**A/N Welcome back to Once Upon a Fallen Rose.**

 **Quick plug for my friend BusyDizzy over on Etsy. I have an Arkos notebook from her store that I use all the time to jot down notes for this story. You wouldn't be reading this chapter without her kickass art.**

 **/-/**

She always got the shakes before a mission.

Ever since her first work assignment in Signal. Her very first steps on her journey to becoming a Huntress. She had shaken like a leaf in a storm.

It was just nerves. She knew it but it didn't stop her stuffing her hands into her webbing and caressing her straight silver. Weapons always calmed her down. They were simple, elegant and beautiful. They gave her comfort and stilled her hands.

She was an Imperial Guardsmen now. Tanith 2nd. Alpha Platoon. 2nd squad. No longer a Huntress of Beacon Academy. It still felt surreal to her. Three months in the Imperium. She knew she'd seen nothing yet. Not from the war stories she'd heard.

The drop bay was a press of bodies. Even well groomed and far away from their homeworld the woodsmen still smelled like nalwood smoke. Crammed in like sardines with sweat soon to be joined by blood and tears. She checked her lasgun for the fifth time in ten minutes and mourned the loss of her long las. She was the best shot in the regiment but the squad already had a sniper and she would have had to join the scout cadre to get her own. But that didn't matter. She loved her lasgun. She cleaned it everyday to the point of obsession and couldn't wait to use it in defense of her new home. She wasn't afraid of lasbolts coming her way. Her Aura would soak up anything that came at her. If the Angel of Death wanted her then it'd have to reach out and take her.

She couldn't leave Jaune behind to go to the scout cadre anyway. Even though just thinking about him bought up some confusing feelings. No repeats of the previous incident but there had been moments. A lingering stare here and a little too much touching there.

She shoved it down. Deep down. She didn't need it right now and neither did Jaune. They had both just lost their worlds, families and friends. Everything they'd ever known gone in an eye blink and the fire of a mad woman. Replaced with devotion to a dead god on some distant world and a life of fighting his wars.

She looked over to Jaune and saw him field stripping his lasgun. Just like she'd taught him too. He did it robotically and methodically. Hands working with a speed she could only attribute to constant practice. His face was a mask of concentration.

He looked like a soldier now. Black webbing over green flak armor with the Arc symbol dabbed on with yellow paint. Below it were the symbols for team JNPR. Ruby had mirrored the practice on her own flak armor for team RWBY. They had both cried when painting them on. Avoiding the gaze of their fellow soldiers.

They got on with their squad. Knew a few faces to sit with in the mess hall and who they could rely on in training drills. The pair were known to be distant but warm enough to anyone that talked to them. Ruby liked that just fine. She no longer obsessed over having "normal knees" because what was there even to care about in what others thought of her. She would be their hero and prove it though her actions. Not her hopeless social skills.

Jaune did pretty much whatever she told him too. Ruby knew he trusted her to train him and help him through. They'd lean on each other and it would help them move on and heal.

But for right now it was drop time and one of them might die. In the mud and so very far from home. Aura was a good way to sponge enemy fire but it would run out after a while. At least that was the theory. It was about to be put to practice.

She pulled her cloak up over her head and tried to stop the relentless shaking.

/-/

Colonel Decius Gaunt was a man burdened with the weight of expectation.

His Grandfather. Ibram Gaunt. Was one of the most well known Commissars in the Imperium. The Sabbat Worlds crusade had been won not single handedly, but in large part. Thanks to him and his Ghosts. And Decius was his grandson. With his own command of third generation settlers to New Tanith. Men descended from those heroes. Of Tanith, Verghast and Belladon. None of them had seen war. Decius was fresh out of the Schola himself. Given command of the Regiment through weight of his _name_ and not his _merit_.

It galled him. Made him so sick he wanted to resign his commission on the spot. Refuse completely the command of the Regiment.

But duty called and the Emperor called with it. He could not shirk in his duty to the Throne. There were whispers from the edge. Dark omens and even darker signs coming from the fringes and still fought over edges of the Sabbat Worlds.

He had accepted command and mustered his men with haste. Three thousand line infantry of the Tanith 2nd. Not stealth specialists but pure and simple linesman. They still had a scout cadre but it was more for tradition than actual practicality. No Mkolls in the Regiment as far as Decious had seen. He'd been raised on the tales and Mkoll had been a Ghosts Ghost.

Now three months later it was finally time to make war. His doubts threatened to double him over but he ignored them. He was a committed and competent officer and by the Emperor he would lead his men to victory.

But there was dissent in the ranks. His Commissars unblooded and cruel. His men well trained and well drilled but not a shred of real world experience among them. The 2nd was green as grass and getting dropped into a right gakking shitstorm. Vostruna. It had everything you could ever ask for in an example of insanity. Primitive savages that worshiped Chaos opposed only by other Emperor worshiping Primitives. Giant bug like creatures that could rip the head of a man as easy as twisting a drinks bottle cap. Exosegs the locals called them. The only reason the Imperium even cared about the system is because the planet is rich in resources. The Tanith 2nd was being sent to defend a liberate a mining operation that was being overrun. Except some fether had armed the local spear wielding cavemen with lasguns.

Decius studied the tactical maps. He poured over the readouts and analysed every shred of information. Then he collated it into a briefing and summoned his senior command staff. All the company leaders and his two Commissars. It was tedious and devoid of the regimental banter he's heard about from his grandfather. He told men up to three times his age what to do and where to go when they land. He felt like a fraud. A child in a man's shoes. He tried to clamp down on his anxieties but as he was finding out more and more. He did not possess the iron will of Ibram Gaunt. Nor did he possess his tactical acumen. He was merely a competent commander and strategist. By his own reckoning anyway.

Sighing he straightened his cap and checked his chain sword in its sheath. He would drop with his personal platoon. He would give them courage and lift their spirits before they hit dirt. Wondering how many would die on this world far from home he stepped through the bulkhead door.

He couldn't shake the feeling he had no idea what he was doing.

/-/

Jaune gripped his Lasgun tight to his chest. Crocea Mors was strapped to his waist. His flak armor was strapped tightly to him. He was A&A. Armored and armed. He felt Ruby shake beside him but he ignored it. Snaking a freehand around her shoulders he bought her close. Some of the other Tanith looked at him jealousy. He ignored them too. There was nothing but comfort in his intentions. He didn't feel the fear as long as he was protecting someone else. It was why he had wanted to be a Huntsman. To get over his _fear_. To not let the weight of his family's expectations rule him. He wanted to be a great warrior not only to honor them. But for himself.

A pale hand reached out dripping with green paint. It stopped and it's owner paused, a silent question asked. He nodded his consent and felt warpaint being dabbed onto his face. The hand steady even as the craft hot dropped through the atmosphere. Two fingers traced a line from his forehead to his nose, then across his eyes in a crude cross. "Thanks Merlin" Jaune said.

Merlin was a Techs Tech. Former adept of the Mechanicus doing what amounted to the Imperiums cutting edge research. He was also one of the few people he and Ruby spoke too in Alpha. A wiry Tanith born with a single forest green swirling tattoo above below his left eye. Now he was here about to die in the mud with us. A common Trooper when he could have been so much more. Ruby had asked him why he gave up his chance to be a Tech Priest. Merlin has merely replied that he "Just couldn't stand sitting in his lab doing nothing while others died against the arch foe" Apparently he'd lost family to Chaos. We didn't ask.

"Watch yourself down there Jaune." Ruby whispered to him. "I will." He promised.

"Okay boys and girls get ready. It's about to get real gakking warm" Said Psycho from behind them. They went off warnames in the Platoon. It made them easier to identify to each other. Bought the unit closer together. At least that was the idea.

The doors popped open with a hiss and War rushed in. Lasfire and screams. The smell of blood and shit and fear. Jaune ran out and rattled off a few shots. They were the first Guard on the planet. In fact Jaune was the first Tanith trooper onto the soil of Vostruna. Emptying his cell into the general direction of the enemy he ran forward and felt auto rounds ping off of his Aura. They had been given orders to charge and take the fortifications of the mine as soon as they landed. He slammed a new cell into his Lasgun and slung the strap across his shoulder. He was leading the charge now. There was no cover to be had. Just a short slog to the trenches and the walls. Crocea Mors came out and expanded in his hand. Shield held in front of him he pushed forward. Feeling the force of an auto stubber he pumped Aura into his weapon. It glowed slightly with the Light of his Soul, not like anyone was looking. Too busy trying not to die.

The rounds slowed his advance enough that to his sides Troopers were running past him. He caught a brief glimpse of the blur that was Ruby. Abandoning her lasgun by slinging it round her shoulder she unlimbered Crescent Rose with an uncharacteristic snarl.

Making it the fortifications Jaune bought down Crocea Mors on the barrel of the stubber. The gun exploded in his face just as he remembered to block. Being forced back a few steps his Aura deflected any of the damage that got past his shield.

Jaune couldn't believe the noise. It was nothing like the Fall of Beacon. It was just a constant thrum of screams and booms and the discharging of weapons. He could feel it jarring his teeth. Shaking his bones loose and giving him a headache already.

"The walls. Over the fething walls" He heard from his right. Looking to the man who had said it just in time to watch his jaw be blown off by an autogun round.

Flexing aura into his legs he jumped the barricade. It was a little clumsy but he made it over.

Chaos soldiers looked at him and chattered in their foul language. Looted mining masks warped with heretical symbols that hurt to gaze upon.

He flexed his hand on Crocea Mors. A voice seemed to whisper on the edge of his mind. It told him to kill. To spill blood and watch it run the ground with red. Red like roses.

"Well okay then." He said. Not noticing the malevolent tendrils wrapping themselves around his mind.

Crocea Mors flashed, and heretics screamed in fear.

/-/

 **And so we begin the Mines arc. Chapters a little short but It'll pick up next time.**

 **Not much to say here really. Except Uni has started again and uploads are going to slow right the feth down. My life is also set to get a lot busier than it was in the holidays so i'll work on the fic when I can. Uploads may be sporadic but the fic will never be abandoned.**

 **Thank you all for the kind words in the reviews. Every single one makes me want to write more and the ideas i've gotten are really helping shape the story.**

 **Until next chapter 0/**


	6. The Mines

**A/N Welcome back to Once Upon a Fallen Rose.**

 **/-/**

Fears icy touch couldn't come close to Jaune as he cut through the heretics like a Daemon. There was no finesse to it. Not graceful like Weiss or Ren. Not skilled like Pyrrha. There was only his brute strength and his monstrous Aura reserves. It was all he had and he'd use it well.

He took to using his shield and his Lasgun rather than his sword. Blocking bullets and lasbolts then cutting the foe down either by shooting them close range or by hitting them with the edge of his shield until they were paste.

He got a few stares and a few questions for his unorthodox fighting style. But he'd led the charge and taken his section of the wall faster than anyone else in the Regiment. So no one questioned him just yet.

Ruby was right at his side now. Crescent Rose tucked away on her back. She had her Lasgun braced and firing, she always stuck her tongue out on a tricky shot. Had he noticed that before?

Pain exploded on his face and everything went white for a second. He turned to look and realized a heretic had hit him in the face with a shovel. Seeing red Jaune leapt at him and battered his next shovel strike away. Blood and spittle came away from the re-breather on the mask as the heretic yelled obscenities to his dark gods.

With raw strength alone he managed to force the heretic back and bring his lasgun to bear. With a scream he held down the trigger and emptied half the cell into the bastard until his lower half was nothing but a charred stump.

"We're getting gakked out here!" said a voice from next to him. Psycho was taking cover behind him."

"Well then let's get gakked over there!" Jaune said. Pointing with his sword he leapt out into a firestorm. Not even daring to look back. Every nerve was on fire as adrenaline kept him moving. Every second he could be taken out by a stray shot. He could see it all around as soldiers dropped like flies. This was nothing but a raid by Imperial Standards but it would already be a major battle back on Remnant.

Leaping into the middle of the compound Jaune immediately dropped behind a set of steel containers. Las fire pinged off of the metal.

"You're insane!" Psycho said from beside him. "I like it" He clasped him on the shoulder grinning.

"I'm terrified" Jaune said laughing. Tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "But I won't fail. Not again. Never again." He hiked up his las rifle to his face and squeezed off a few shots. Raining hellfire down upon the enemy. The righteous fury of a scared man. He missed half his shots and the other half seemed to bounce off of a scorched metal plate.

"Up!" commanded a voice from beside him. He turned to see the commander of the regiment in full battle regalia. Bolt pistol barking out it's anger as his chainsword revved. Already covered in slick ichor. "Up and at them. For the Emperor. For Tanith!"

Jaune wasn't from Tanith but he knew the Colonel would shoot him if he didn't get up.

Unslinging his shield he saw the entrance to the mine a short distance away. If he could get to that he could stand in the breach. Plugging the Chaos reinforcements.

"Sir!" he said. Hopping to his feet and drawing Crocea Mors. This would be close range and bloody work. If he could buy them time then they could take the compound. He could do this. He could be useful. Finally he could be worthy of JNPR. Worthy of Pyrrha.

Before anyone could stop him he charged directly at the tunnel.

Uncaring. Unflinching. He had something to prove.

Lasfire pinged off of his flak jacket and his Aura. He wielded the Light of his Soul just as he had been taught. Bringing to bear its monstrous power as a bulwark against the darkness.

Reaching the tunnel he stuck Crocea Mors in the ground and brought to bear his lasgun. Hiding behind the shield he squeezed off shots into the darkness. Red streaks lit up the grimy and deformed faces of Chaos cultists. They screamed blasphemous heresy at him. He didn't listen, for he was not of this world.

"Come and get it!" He screamed through gritted teeth. He was doing it. He was holding them all back!

He could hear his allies getting closer. Clearing up the last remaining vestiges of resistance as he held the tunnel. People were firing past him in the darkness. Pleading for him to take cover behind a wall. He didn't listen, he had this. Ruby would be so proud…

He frowned as he heard a sound of metal slapping against metal. Like the tread of an Atlas mech. It confused him for a second. Were they trying some ploy with mining equipment? Should he move out of the way?

The men beside him were getting nervous. The mysterious sound was getting louder and louder. He realised it was the sound of boots on metal. But from the reverberations they sounded monstrous. He began to doubt. To feel the familiar fear creep up and make his spine tingle. He felt his shirt stick from sweat to his back. But he couldn't give up. Not even as the pounding got close enough to hurt his ears.

All he saw was glowing red eyes and a man the size of a tank before his aura flared and he was sent sailing backwards.

Having such poor control over his aura he had forgotten or just simply not had time to shield his back from the impact. So the darkness took him, and he knew no more.

 **/-/**

She was on the other side of the compound clearing up survivors when she heard it. An inhuman roar that twisted reality and bought up a primal fear in her. It sounded exactly like a Beowulf to her. For a moment she thought that perhaps she had been sent home to Remnant. But her surroundings were the same.

And then she heard the screaming. The sound of ripping and tearing. It called to her like a siren song. Tempting her to rip Rip RIP.

She ignored it. With significant effort. What the hell was that feeling? She'd attributed it to the more brutal setting of the Imperium at first but now she realized it made her Aura twitch uncomfortably. Whatever it was it was messing with her _soul_. That did not sit well with Ruby Rose.

She couldn't admit to herself that the Imperium was getting to her yet. Making her more violent. Corrupting her promise to her mother that she made all those years ago.

" _Life is precious. And it must be protected."_ she said to herself. Already on the move towards the sight of the screaming.

What she saw turned her stomach, almost giving the Reaper pause. A monster of a man clad in power armor. A human tank. A Relic from an age long past and not for her to know.

"Traitor!" She roared across the battlefield. No one heard her in the din of battle of course. But she felt right for yelling it.

Before her was a Traitor Marine of Khorne.

They had been briefed on Chaos Marines by the Colonel himself. Hulking masses of men that had given themselves to the Ruinous powers. They felt wrong to behold. They made the whispers in her head louder. Yang would have made a joke. She could almost hear it in her head. "He eats his Khoreflakes!" she would say.

The corpses of babies and ragged strips of flesh and blood that adorned his armor disgusted her. It was anathema to all she stood for. To all her ideals. Trying to bite down the urge to vomit and very almost failing she surveyed the field.

Spotting Jaune on the floor, down for the count and covered in blood. Only served to enrage her further. To fuel the primal need to kill the wrongness in front of her. To expunge this /thing/.

Bursting into rose petals she rushed forwards. Heedless of the bark of Las fire all around her. She cared for nothing but this creature's death. Crescent Rose lashed out like the hand of the Emperor. Promising death with a whistle and a-

Clang.

The blade bent and twisted. Bouncing off the reinforced cermite of the power armor. She tumbled head over heels. Splaying out in the dirt with a surprised expression plastered across her face.

A grating, booming laugh issued from the Marine. Like the sound of teeth grinding together but amplified and mirthful. He said nothing. He just laughed and laughed. Lasfire pinging harmlessly off of his armor.

The slow thunk of a bolter started up as he started mowing down Tanith left and right. Hitting the occasional cultist with uncaring efficiency.

Her baby had failed her. The blade was not sharp enough to pierce whatever the hell that armor was made of.

Her eyes were drawn to Jaunes sword. What had he said about it? That it was an heirloom? Maybe it was more than it appeared. Either way it was more suited to what she had in mind.

Snatching it from the dirt she held it in front of her and ducked and weaved through the fighting. Men were running scared from the chaos marine but there was still enough confusion for her not to get shot immediately.

Her speed was key. Without it she would be dead a dozen times over. Too late did the marine spot her and level his bolter. Only to shoot falling rose petals.

Clang.

Crocea Mors locked with the deadly teeth of a chainaxe. She yanked it free before it began revving. She felt a bolt of primal fear as it was slashed in her face. She could barely keep it at bay. It was like fighting Yang, but without the control. The thing in front her wasn't human. Not anymore.

And she couldn't kill it. She was realising that. She'd bitten off more than she could chew and now she was going to die. Just like her mother.

 _Im sorry Jaune._ She thought. As she dodged and weaved. Keeping it distracted for as long as possible. But she could feel her aura draining. Feel it ebbing and a dark voice getting louder. She didn't know what would happen if she listened to that voice. But she didn't like that it was almost deafening when she looked at the marine.

Her arm almost shattered when she blocked a strike she was too slow to dodge. Crying out in pain she looked into those burning red eyes and she wanted to run. It made her head scream and her blood boil. She could feel blood dripping out her nose and-

Looking up she yelped before using her semblance to speed back. Falling onto the ground and dropping Crocea Mors she watched as some kind of lander slammed into the marine. Crushing it surely to death.

The doors opened quickly and she thanked The Emperor for the salvation. But what stepped out of the lander made her eyes go wide. Soldiers streamed out from his sides and fanned out. Shooting at anything that moved and wasn't Imperial.

He looked the same as he always did. Minus a few scars and a change of outfit. But she could never mistake those eyes. Knowing your every secret. Knowing everything.

"Miss Rose?" He said shocked, before smiling lightly. "You have silver eyes." He said, in a callback to their first meeting. "And Mr Arc!" he exclaimed upon seeing Jaunes fallen form. Just beginning to stir.

"Ozpin!" She exclaimed, trying to get up.

Before hearing a click and feeling the barrel of a gun pressing against the back of her head. "Don't. Move." Said a familiar voice.

"Blake?" She said. Wanting so badly to turn around. "What's going on?"

Ozpin looked her up and down. Seemingly gazing into her soul. Before nodding to himself. "At ease Miss Belladonna. They both seem free of any obvious taint for now."

She felt the pressure on the back of her head ease instantly. As suddenly as it had come on. She got to her feet and took up her weapon. Feeling better with it's comforting weight. "Blake. Headmaster. It's so good to see you both!" She almost vibrated with renewed energy. Although it was tempered by confusion.

"There will be time for all that later Miss Rose. For now. We have to stop what's going on in those mines." He took off his glasses and looked grave. "Or this sector is lost."

 **/-/**

 **A/N**

 **I have no excuses. This story will be worked on when I have ideas and inspiration. My life kind of fell apart.**

 **Reviews appreciated 3**


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